Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg.
October 2, 2021
Arden Villas, Preiss Co, Donna Preiss, Adam Byrley, Jessica Decker,
Your negligence has consequences. For years, residents have reported inappropriate
behavior of those that enter their apartments. Among these reports are: lack of prior
notice, lack of knocking, refusal to leave residents’ apartments. For years, residents
have also requested basic safety measures that include the following: closing the gate
during the hours announced in community emails and introducing the presence of light
to the gate so cameras can recognize license plates.
As residents, we have documentation of these incidents, and of recent resident
requests for security officers and closure of the gates. In addition, there have been
many police reports filed within the community that Arden Villas was unable to help with
due to the lack of cameras and other security measures. These cases were classified
as civil and even criminal. In the week following Miya Marcano’s disappearance, Arden
Villas has made some steps towards improving safety and security, yet the people of the
Villas plead for help on the community forums. Their cries went unheard, so we made
signs. Those signs were glossed over, so we shall speak louder.
This is a letter of our demands, from we, the people of Arden Villas, to you, the upper
management of The Preiss Company. We demand compensation for the current
residents of Arden Villas. We demand new safety and security measures, not just for
our sake, but for the sake of future residents. This is primarily a college community, it is
marketed towards college students. Parents entrust you with their children, help them
get their first apartment by signing as a guarantor, and as the management behind the
complex, it is up to you to uphold the unspoken contract of trust.
Miya Marcano was only 19. She trusted her safety to you. The negligence you have
shown demonstrates your inability to keep us safe. As things stand, we do not feel safe.
Below lie our demands, the things we have been pleading for, for years. We require you
to release a statement to both us, the residents, and the press, that you will follow
through on our list of demands by October 8, 2021. If you do not send emails out
concerning our leases; if you take our posters down and stifle our assembly; if you do
not release the statement we request; we will pursue a class action lawsuit against you,
The Preiss Company.
Regards,
The Residents of Arden Villas
A Community United For The Right To Be Safe
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 2
The list of demands compiled by the Arden Villas community is as follows:
Resident Compensation
1. Any current resident that wishes to break their lease must be permitted to
do so via a simple letter of notification to Arden Villas.
The template for this letter of notification must be sent by Arden Villas to all
residents via email and be easily located within the resident portal for the
remainder of the 2021-2022 lease term. The email to which to send this letter of
notification must be broadly displayed on the template itself and the page in the
resident portal it is located on. All emails received by Arden Villas concerning
breaking a lease must be responded to by the next business day and approved.
The template of the letter of notification must be made available by the end of
business day on October 15, 2021. The template must also be physically
provided in person in the front office upon request.
2. All rent collected since the beginning of the 2021-2022 lease term must be
returned in full to the residents.
The rent payments to be returned are the 2 installments due on September 1,
2021 and October 1, 2021, respectively. This money is to be used by the
residents to purchase safety and security devices for themselves and their
homes, as Arden Villas failed to uphold their part of the contract of safety.
3. Any resident who wishes to renew their lease must be offered the lowest
price between: their current base lease price and the starting renewal price
of their floor plan, regardless of when they decide to renew.
The “sliding-scale” model of lease price escalation that is based on how many
residents of a specific floor plan renew their lease is not allowed to be used for all
2022-2023 lease renewals.
4. Any resident with property damage due to the installation of safety and
security devices must not be charged for this damage.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 3
New Security Measures
5. Gate Security
5.1. The gates must be closed 24/7. This includes pedestrian gates.
5.1.1. During times of mass move-in or move-out, the gate must remain
closed 24/7.
5.2. There must be a designated security officer at the gate 24/7.
5.3. A one-way speed bump must be installed on the exit gate.
5.4. A barrier arm gate must be installed alongside both gates. This is so that
in the event of a line of cars, the sliding gate remains open, while the
barrier arm gate closes after every individual car.
5.4.1. The barrier arm gates must be properly timed and/or calibrated so
as to close after one vehicle passes through the gate.
5.5. Proper lighting must be installed on both sides of the gate so license
plates can be properly caught on camera.
5.6. Cameras must record the license plates and time of entry and exit of
every vehicle, whether they be residents, guests, employees, or
contractors. This footage and log of entries and exits must be kept for a
minimum of 30 days.
5.7. The use of a resident’s guest code must be logged. The resident must be
notified of the use of their guest code by text and/or email.
6. Common Area Safety
6.1. There must be cameras installed in numerous places throughout the
community. All cameras must be maintained and on at all times. The
footage from these cameras must be kept for a minimum of 30 days. The
locations for cameras are as follows.
6.1.1. There must be cameras at all major intersections within the
community.
6.1.2. There must be a camera in the trash area.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 4
6.1.3. There must be a camera in the laundry facilities located in the
clubhouse.
6.1.4. There must be a camera at the bus stop. (See section 6.4)
6.2. There must be streetlights installed in numerous locations throughout the
community. These lights must turn on upon sundown and turn off upon
sunrise. These lights must also turn on when there is significantly bad
weather that impacts visibility. The locations for lights are as follows.
6.2.1. All guest parking lots must be properly lit.
6.2.2. All resident parking lots must be properly lit.
6.2.3. All crosswalks must be properly lit. (See section 6.5)
6.2.4. The area by the trash compactor and the recycling bins in the grass
must be properly lit.
6.2.5. The bus stop must be properly lit. (See section 6.4)
6.3. The parking spaces in the center of the roundabout must be removed and
made into an elevated, paved area in order to improve the visibility in the
roundabout.
6.3.1. There must be a one way speed bump installed in the roundabout
to ensure traffic flows the correct way.
6.4. The 4 parking spaces on the northeast part of the roundabout must be
removed and converted into a bus stop. This bus stop must have proper
lighting, seating, and a cover for shade and weather. This bus stop must
have a camera. This bus stop must be made to comfortably fit a minimum
of 6 people.
6.5. All direct methods of walking between sections of sidewalk must be
designated as crosswalks and marked as so.
6.6. All speed bumps must be properly painted.
7. Building Safety
7.1. The requirements for cameras in resident buildings are as follows. These
cameras and any additional cameras in this letter must abide by the
camera requirements detailed in section 6.1.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 5
7.1.1. Cameras must be installed in every atrium.
7.1.2. Cameras must be installed on the sides and backs of every
building.
7.1.3. Cameras must be installed in every interior pod of 4 apartments.
7.2. All doors leading to resident hallways must be locked via both keypad
and keyfob. The keypad must accept residents’ guest codes.
7.3. All doors leading to resident hallways must be properly on their hinges
and locked at all times.
7.4. The bricks that make up the flooring in all atriums must be securely
fastened to the ground. The ground must be flat and level.
7.5. The hedges that border the entrances to all buildings must be no taller
than 3 feet tall to maintain visibility. These hedges must be trimmed and
maintained.
7.6. Every instance of a resident’s guest code being used must be logged and
sent to all residents of that apartment via text message, email, and
resident portal.
7.7. Residents in buildings bordering the edge of the property with complaints
of activity on the other side of the fence must have their complaints
addressed by either the community security officer or Arden Villas within
a reasonable timeframe.
8. Maintenance and Other Apartment Visits
8.1. All apartment visits by an Arden Villas staff member, maintenance
employee, or other such member of staff must be logged. The staff’s
name and photo must be logged as well.
8.2. No master keys are allowed to exist, no matter who holds them. Any
current master keys must be destroyed and any further keys are
prohibited.
8.3. All maintenance visits must be requested by the resident. No unsolicited
maintenance visits are allowed.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 6
8.4. The creation of a temporary access key must be logged. They must be
time-locked as well, only being able to access an apartment for a specific
timeframe on a specific date. Every use of these keys must be logged.
8.4.1. Every use of a key to open a resident’s apartment that is not one of
the keys owned by the residents of that apartment must send a
notification to all residents of said apartment. This notification must
be in the form of a text and/or email. These entry logs must also be
available within the “Secure Access” tab on the resident portal. (see
section 8.5)
8.4.2. After every temporary key expires, residents must be sent an email
to review the visit. Residents must be able to anonymously report
inappropriate behavior of a staff member online and 24/7. Arden
Villas must investigate every staff member that is reported as being
harassing or inappropriate regardless of the position of that staff
member within the company.
8.5. There must be a “Secure Access” tab on a resident’s portal. This tab
must contain the full list of all keys currently in existence for that
resident’s apartment. This tab must be accessible at all times and have
up to date information at all times. The resident must be able to: see the
number of keys currently in existence, see the timeframe each key is
locked to, see the name and photo of the staff member that each key is
assigned to. Upon creation of a new key, all residents of an apartment
must receive an email and/or text with the new entry and a link to their
“Secure Access” tab.
8.5.1. This tab must also include a log of all uses of a resident’s guest
code.
8.6. Residents must be given a two-week notice for quarterly inspections, with
a reminder at the one-week mark and the day before. The residents of an
apartment must be given a maximum of a 3 hour window on a single day
in which the quarterly inspection will take place. If the inspections are
proceeding faster or slower than anticipated, the staff is not allowed to
enter the residents’ apartment at a different time than previously stated. If
the staff misses the time window for inspections, it is up to the resident to
choose when the alternate inspection will take place. If the staff misses
this alternate inspection time, the staff is not allowed to inspect the
apartment until the next quarterly inspection.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 7
8.6.1. If it is found during an inspection that maintenance work needs to
be done, the residents of the apartment must be notified and be
given a full list of the work to be done. The residents will then
schedule the work to be done at a time of their preference at any
point in time prior to the next quarterly inspection.
9. Resident Preferences
9.1. In the aforementioned “Secure Access” tab on a resident’s portal, (see
section 8.5) the resident must be able to customize how they receive their
notifications, which notifications they receive, and change their phone
number and email at any time.
9.1.1. Regardless of a resident’s preferences, Arden Villas must log all
aforementioned and to-be-mentioned information.
9.2. A resident must be able to opt out of the mailroom entirely and have all
would-be mailroom packages delivered to their door. The resident must
be able to change their preference at any time via the resident portal.
9.2.1. If a package is mistakenly delivered to the mailroom for a resident
who is currently opted out of the mailroom, a staff member must
deliver the package to the doorstep of the resident’s apartment
within 1 business day.
9.3. Residents must have the ability to change their guest code, create
temporary guest codes, and label all guest codes created within their
“Secure Access” tab. (see section 8.5)
9.3.1. These temporary guest codes must be customizable, for either: a
certain number of uses or a specific time-block on a specific day,
whichever is the preference of the resident creating the temporary
guest code.
9.4. Residents must be able to see all anonymous reports linked to a staff
member who has a temporary key fob to their apartment. These
anonymous reports must be easily viewable from the “Secure Access”
tab. (see section 8.5) Residents must be able to blacklist specific staff
members from their apartment. Any temporary key for their apartment
held by a blacklisted staff member must immediately cease function.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 8
9.4.1. If a staff member is blacklisted from one or more apartments, they
must immediately be investigated by Arden Villas.
10. Security Officers
10.1. Arden Villas must contract a security company to monitor the gate and
survey the premises 24/7. They must keep this security company for a
minimum of 10 years and are not allowed to add a “Security charge” of
greater than $15 to residents’ rent.
10.2. Duties of the Security Officers
10.2.1. The security officers must monitor activity at the gate.
10.2.2. The security officers must both drive throughout the community and
walk behind and between buildings.
10.2.3. The security officers must monitor the activity on the cameras and
respond to incidents accordingly.
10.2.4. Should the duties of the security officers necessitate their entry into
a resident’s apartment without that resident’s consent, the entry of a
security officer’s key into a resident’s apartment should notify the
police and call them to the location automatically. This is in addition
to the standard notifications of all non-resident keys.
10.3. Contacting the Security Officers
10.3.1. The phone number to call the security officer must be publicly
displayed on all building entrances, in both atriums of every
building, as well as on the new bus stop, by the mail boxes, and on
the clubhouse front and back porches.
10.3.2. The resident portal must contain a section to contact the security
officer via text alone. Residents must be able to set up their devices
so they can text the security officer from their phones.
10.4. All security officers must have a marked car that indicates they are
security.
10.5. All security officers must be wearing clothing that designates they are
security.
Demand Letter to Arden Villas, pg. 9
10.6. Arden Villas must supply a designated parking spot for the security car.
This spot can be created in the roundabout renovation project. (see
section 6.3)
10.7. The security officers must have access to their own restroom and
kitchenette at all times.
11. Communication From Arden Villas
11.1. Any future instances of criminal activity on the premises must be directly
communicated to residents as soon as Arden Villas is aware of the
activity.
11.2. Within a week of quarterly inspections, Arden Villas is required to send
out an email asking for reviews of the staff during the inspection. Through
this email, residents must be able to report inappropriate behavior
anonymously. These anonymous reports must be linked to employee
records within the “Secure Access” tab.
11.3. Arden Villas must send a community-wide email notifying residents what
their monthly “Landlord Liability'' fee covers when compared to a typical
renter’s insurance policy. This email must be in neutral language and be
re-sent at the beginning of every new leasing period.
11.4. All current employees of Arden Villas, whether that be in the front office,
the back office, the leasing office, maintenance, or contractors such as
pesticide and garbage collection, and any other employees not
mentioned here must have a background check run by November 1,
2021 for the mental wellbeing of the residents.
11.5. Arden Villas must inform the community on their social media accounts
every step of the way in their implementation of the security and safety
measures above. Communication is key.
